Extensible delivery device



Aug. 5, 1941. F. w. MOORE EXTENSIBLE DELIVERY DEVICE Filed April 11,1940 FIGZ INVENTOR FRED W. MOORE HIS ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 5, 1941EXTENSIBLE DELIVERY DEVICE Fred W. Moore, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor toNational Pumps Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application April 11, 1940, Serial No. 329,085

Claims.

This invention relates to an extensible delivery device for liquiddispensing apparatus and is designed more particularly as an extensibledelivery hose for gasoline pumps. In the ordinary gasoline pump thedelivery hose is connected with the discharge line of the pump near theupper end of the pump cabinet and is usually approximately ten feet inlength. This length enables delivery to be made to any automobile whichis properly located with relation to the pump but definitely limits thedistance which the filling opening of the gasoline tank of theautomobile is located from the pump. It is not practical to use longerhose because of its weight and the difiiculty in handling the same andalso because such excessive length would cause the hose to drag over theground or cement pavement during ordinary delivery operations in such amanner as to cause excessive wear on the hose. It has been proposedheretofore to render the delivery hose extensible in various ways, asby-means of a reel on which the hose is wound or the use of weights toretract the hose. In such devices an extra long hose is of course usedand in making any delivery a pull must be exerted on the hose sufiicientto unwind or extend the same, with the result that the hose is more orless cumbersome and difficult to handle. Further, in the event of injuryto or excessive wear on any part of the hose, the hose as a whole mustbe discarded. In such arrangements the means for supporting the hose isusually arranged in the pump cabinet which is objectionable not onlybecause of the space required therefor but because it renders thesupporting means inaccessible.

One object of the inventin is to provide an extensible delivery hose ofsuch a character that it will be necessary to manipulate only thestandard length of hose in making deliveries to properly placedautomobiles but which may be extended to enable deliveries to be made toimproperly placed automobiles.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an extensibledelivery hose all parts of which, and the support therefor, will bearranged exteriorly of the pump cabinet and will be readily accessible,and in which a worn or injured part may be replaced without replacingthe entire delivery hose.

A further object of the invention is to provide an extensible deliveryhose of such a character and so supported that there will be nolikelihood of the hose kinking in such a manner as to injure the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a delivery hose inwhich the hose will not be coiled or otherwise distorted so as to reduceits capacity and expel a portion of the gasoline therefrom after thenozzle has been closed.

. A further object of the invention is to provide such an'extensibledelivery device which will be simple in construction, easily installedand can be produced at a low cost.

Other objects of the invention may appear as I the device is describedin detail.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a gasolinepump equipped with my extensible delivery hose; Fig. 2 is an elevationpartly in section and partly broken away of portions of the extensibledevice and the means for connecting the same with the discharge line ofthe pump; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the pump showing thedelivery hose in its extended position.

In this drawing I have, for the purpose of illustration, shown what isnow the preferred embodiment of the invention and have shown the same asapplied to a gasoline pump of a well known character. It will beunderstood, however, that the device may take various forms and may beused in connection with dispensing apparatus of various kinds withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

In carrying out my invention I connect with the discharge line of thepump an upright flexible tube the lower end of which is fixedly mountednear the lower end of the pump cabinet and which is yieldably retainednormally in a sub stantially vertical position. The usual or standarddelivery hose is connected with the upper or discharge end of this tubeand may be manipulated in making ordinary deliveries Without substantialflexure of the upright tube, but in making a delivery at an excessivedistance from the pump the tube may be flexed to increase the distancefrom the pump at which the delivery may be made. In the particularembodiment illustrated the gasoline pump as a whole comprises a cabinet5 within which is located the usual motor driven pump, meter anddischarge line. The discharge line usually passes through a flow orlevel indicator, as shown at 6, and is connected with the delivery hoseat a point near the top of the cabinet. In Fig. 2 a portion of thedischarge line is shown at I and the laterally extending pipe forming apart of the discharge line is terminated within the cabinet 5 and hasconnected therewith a downwardly extending pipe 8, which forms a part ofthe discharge line and which is connected at its lower end with theinner end of a conduit 9, the outer end of which is arranged exteriorlyof the cabinet. As here shown, the conduit 9 is formed in a fitting lwhich is mounted in the base H of the cabinet and extends beneath theadjacent wall of the cabinet to the exterior of the latter, the basebeing preferably provided with an offset portion I! on the exterior ofthe cabinet wall to receive the outer end of the fitting. The fitting isrigidly secured in the base, as by means of screws, one of which isshown at 13.

Connected with the outer end of the conduit 9 is a flexible tube I4preferably in the form of a section of gasoline hose of a diameterslightly greater than the diameter of the standard hose. The lower endof this tube may be secured to the conduit 9, or fitting ill, in anysuitable manner. As here shown, the. base extension I2 is provided inits top with an opening i5 and the outer end portion iii of the fittingl0 extends upwardly through that opening. The tube, or extension, 14, isprovided at its lower end with a coupling member II which is screwthreaded into the upper end of an adapter H! which in turn is screwthreaded into the upwardly projecting outer end iii of the fitting Ill.The lower end of the adapter extends into the conduit and is providedwith lateral ports l9 through which the liquid may flow from the conduitthrough the adapter to the tube. The lower end of the adapter below theopenings I9 is closed by a transverse wall which is provided with aplurality of openings 21, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

The tube or extension M is retained normally in a substantially uprightposition by a resilient device which may be of any suitable characterand preferably it is in the nature of an elongate resilient devicearranged within the tube and having its lower end rigidly mounted nearthe bottom of the tube. In order that the resilient device may have thedesired flexibility and at the same time have sufiicient strength tosupport the tube normally in an upright position I prefer to utilize aplurality of rods 22 of small diameter which are anchored near thebottom of the tube and extend through the same to points near the upperend thereof. In the present instance, I have employed six rods which areof uniform length but any suitable number of rods may be used and it isnot essential that they should all be of the same length. The rods maybe mounted in any suitable manner and, in the present instance, thelower portions thereof extend through the openings 2! in the bottom ofthe adapter l8 and are flattened, as shown at 23, to hold them againstupward movement with relation to the adapter. They are supported againstdownward movement by a plate 24 arranged beneath the flattened endsthereof and secured to the adapter by a screw 25. Thus the rods arerigidly supported but have no fixed connection with the tube I4, thelatter being capable of moving with relation to the rods and the rodsbeing capable of moving laterally with relation one to the other whenthe tube is flexed. Connected with the upper end of the tube l4 by acoupling 26 is the usual delivery hose 21, of standard length, which isprovided at its outer end with the usual nozzle 28. When the dispensingapparatus is idle, that is, between delivery operations, the extensiontube i4 is in a substantially vertical position and the hose 2! islooped over and supported by a bracket 29 on the side wall of thecabinet and the nozzle is supported on the usual bracket 30, thatportion of the hose between the brackets 29 and 30 hanging in loop form.To prevent the coupling 28 from contacting with and marring the wall ofthe cabinet it may be provided with buffer rings 3| of rubber or othersuitable material. When a delivery is to be made the hose 2! is removedfrom its supporting brackets and if the automobile is properly placedwith relation to the pump this delivery may be made at any point withinthe length of the hose in the usual manner without flexing the tube l4,thus requiring the operator to handle and manipulate only the standardlength of hose. If the automobile is placed such a distance from thepump that it cannot be reached by the standard length of hose a slightpull on the hose will flex the tube i4 and permit the delivery to bemade at an increased distance from the pump, as shown in Fig. 3. Theflexing of the tube l4 requires little effort on the part of theoperator and can be effected by the hand which grasps the nozzle,without the necessity of using the other hand to pull on the hose. Itwill be noted that when flexed, as shown in Fig. 3, the end of theextension tube l4 projects a substantial distance beyond the side of thepump cabinet and, further, that when the tube is so flexed the point ofconnection of the standard hose 2! therewith is much lower than it iswhen the hose is connected with the pump in the usual manner, andtherefore the flexing of the extension tube permits deliveries at a substantially increased distance from the pump. With the particularinstallation here shown this distance is increased approximately fourfeet.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention I wishit to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the detailsthereof as various modifications may occur to a person skilled in theart.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An extensible delivery device for a liquid dispensing apparatushaving an outlet for liquid near its lower end, comprising a deliveryhose, a normally upright flexible tube having means for connecting thesame with said outlet and with the inlet end of said delivery hose, anda resilient device mounted on a fixed support near the lower end of saidtube and extending lengthwise of said tube in supporting relationthereto, the resiliency of said device being such that it will retainsaid tube in a substantially upright position during the normalmanipulation of said delivery hose but will yield and permit said tubeto be flexed by the pull of said hose when the discharge end of thelatter is in a position beyond the normal range of its operation.

2. An extensible delivery device for a liquid dispensing apparatushaving an outlet for liquid near its lower end, comprising a deliveryhose, a normally upright flexible tube having means for connecting thesame with said outlet and with the inlet end of said delivery hose, anda resilient device mounted on a fixed support near the lower end of saidtube and extending through said tube to a point adjacent the upper endof the latter and adapted to yieldably support said tube normally in anupright position.

3. An extensible delivery device for a liquid dispensing apparatushaving an outlet for liquid near its lower end, comprising a deliveryhose, a normally upright flexible tube having means for connecting thesame with said outlet and with the inlet end of said delivery hose, anda plurality of resilient rods having their lower ends secured to a fixedsupport adjacent the lower end 01 said tube, extending through said tubein spaced relation one to the other to points adjacent the upper end-ofsaid tube and adapted to retain said tube in a substantially uprightposition during the manipulation of said delivery hose with thedischarge end of the latter spaced laterally from said outlet a distanceno greater than the length of said hose, and to permit the upper end ofsaid tubular member to move downwardly and laterally with relation tosaid outlet when the discharge end of said hose is moved to a pointspaced from said outlet a distance greator than the length of said hose.

4. An extensible delivery device for a liquid dispensing apparatushaving an outlet for liquid near its lower end, comprising a deliveryhose, a normally upright flexible tube having means for connecting thesame with said outlet and with the inlet end of said delivery hose, aplurality of resilient rods extending through said tube forsubstantially the full length thereof, and means for rigidly securingsaid rods near their lower ends to a fixed support, the upper portionsof said rods being capable of lateral movement with relation one totheother and with relation to said tube, the combined resiliency of saidrods being such that they will support said tube in a mounted in saidfitting exteriorly of said cabinet and having an inlet communicatingwith said fitting, a flexible tube connected with said adapter andextending upwardly therefrom, a delivery hose connected with the upperend of said tube, and a resilient device rigidly secured to saidadapter, extending lengthwise of said tube in supporting relationthereto and adapted to retain the same in a substantially uprightposition during the normal manipulation of said delivery hose and to beflexed by the pull of said hose when the discharge end of the latter ismoved to a position beyond the normal range of its operation.

FRED W. MOORE.

